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Fertilizer
Applicator Certification Needed Now
Sam Custer, OSU Extension Darke County
Agricultural fertilizer applicator certification is now required for
farmers who apply fertilizer to more than 50 acres of agricultural
production grown primarily for sale. This requirement was signed into
law in June 2014, and also requires certification for commercial
agricultural fertilizer applicators. Farmers who have their fertilizer
applied by co-ops or custom applicators are not required to be
certified.
Farmers and commercial applicators need to attend a training course
offered by Ohio State University Extension to become certified. Those
who have a pesticide applicator license need to attend a two-hour
fertilizer certification. If an applicator does not have a pesticide
license, they will be required to attend a three-hour fertilizer
certification. Fertilizer applicators who received Fertilizer
Applicator Certification Training in the fall of 2014, during 2015 or
2016 do not need to be trained again in 2017. Applicators who are a
Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) or Certified Livestock Manager (CLM) are
not required to attend the training.
Fertilizer is defined for the regulation as any substance containing
nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, or other plant nutrient in a dry or
liquid formulation. All application types such as broadcast, side
dress, sub-surface, knifing and other are included in the certification
requirement. Lime and limestone are not included as fertilizer for the
certification and farmers who only use starter fertilizer in their
planter boxes are exempted. The agriculture fertilizer certification is
not required for manure applications as these are currently regulated,
unless farmers are applying livestock or poultry manure from a
Concentrated Animal Feeding Facility (CAFF). In this case, they
would need to have either the CLM or Ohio Fertilizer Certification.
A three-hour certification program for any applicator who does not have
a pesticide license will be offered March 17, 9:00 a.m. at Romers in
Greenville, Ohio. This event is part of the Darke County Chamber Ag
Day, a sponsored lunch and luncheon speaker on weather extremes will be
provided in addition to a vendor fair. The event will conclude by
2:30 pm.
Please arrive by 8:30 a.m. so that materials can be distributed and the
program can start on time. This free training will meet the
certification requirements for those with and without a pesticide
license.
Pre-registration is required by March 13. Online registration is
available at nutrienteducation.osu.edu. You can also register by
calling the Darke County Extension office at 937.548.5215.
Applicators who meet the criteria for the fertilizer certification must
attend training by September 30, 2017. The Ohio Department of
Agriculture is the agency issuing the certification for agriculture
fertilizer applications. Once an applicator completes the fertilizer
training, the ODA will bill them $30 for their fertilizer certificate
unless the applicator currently holds a pesticide applicator license.
Their website has information regarding the regulation at agri.ohio.gov.
For more information about other training sessions or general materials
for the agriculture fertilizer certification, visit
nutrienteducation.osu.edu.
For more information about OSU Extension, Darke County, visit the Darke
County OSU Extension web site at www.darke.osu.edu, the OSU Extension
Darke County Facebook page or contact Sam Custer, at 937.548.5215.
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